Whole Foods Market Selects Nielsen as U.S. Analytics Provider

Whole Foods Market, Inc. has selected Nielsen as its primary U.S. analytics provider for point-of-sale data, consumer insights and industry metrics.

Nielsen is working with the Austin, Texas-based retailer to collaboratively create a customized natural and organic product hierarchy that will provide a comprehensive view of Whole Foods Market’s product categories, including ingredient level attributes.

In addition to allowing the company and its supplier partners to make faster and more informed data-decisions to drive growth, the comprehensive and fully integrated hierarchical data will yield a deeper understanding of customer preferences.  With this deeper understanding of its customers, the new alliance with Nielsen will enable Whole Foods Market and its supplier partners to excel at new product development to further the grocer’s position as a trend leader in quality and differentiated product assortment.

Fueled by a global view of retail performance measurement and a growing ability to measure the total consumer, Nielsen was chosen for its comprehensive understanding of Whole Foods Market’s retail universe and inerrable coverage across categories, channels and marketing media.  In addition to developing the customized hierarchy, Nielsen will provide measurement and marketing analytics for all U.S. Whole Foods Market stores in 42 states.

“Whole Foods Market has long been a great retail artist,” said Don Clark, Whole Foods Market’s global vice president of procurement, non-perishables. “This partnership allows us to better blend the art and science of food retail, helping us compete more effectively in a very dynamic environment.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Whole Foods Market to bring the most comprehensive product hierarchy in the health and wellness space to the industry,” said Rob Hill, EVP of retail services at Nielsen. “This hierarchy that will be opened up to the supplier community for the first time, is a foundation for an expanded analytics and consumer-centric engagement that we are proud to be working with Whole Foods Market and the industry on. In addition, our focus on Health & Wellness, advanced data reporting and vast suite of products and services will enable Whole Foods Market to stay on top of changing trends, emerging trends and consumer habits within the grocery space.”  

Whole Foods Market operates more than 435 stores throughout the U.S., U.K. and Canada.